KENDA CUP WEST #1 AT VAIL LAKE

This weekend was the opening race of the Kenda Cup West series which took place in beautiful Vail Lake, CA. Some of the team members showed up on Saturday and enjoyed the beautiful weather out on the course. With a difficult feature, it was a great opportunity to practice before the race the next day. Team owner Derek Hermon debuted the new Bear Valley Bikes/Speed Evolution/Grizzly 100 trailer that will be the team headquarters at all of the races. He set up a Speed Evolution booth outside of the trailer and spent most of Saturday talking to riders about his products. Also, Bear Valley Bikes raced in the new speed suits from Voler. Not only do they look slick but they are very aerodynamic!

Sunday saw different weather. A storm came in and brought a heavy rain and strong winds early on. Junior rider Mitchell Dann started the day out strong for Bear Valley Bikes with a stellar performance and finished 2nd in the 13-14 year old group! The endurance race was a replay of last year’s nasty conditions but that didn’t stop Pro Stuart Gonzalez from giving it everything! Stuart went out hard and was leading the Pro race for the first couple of laps. With the cold weather and excitement, Stuart did not fuel as well as he needed to and had to deal with bonking in the last lap. Derek Hermon and Nikki Peterson were in the feed zone with water and Stuart’s favorite, Honey Stinger gels, to bring him back to life. He ended up fighting hard and still was able to finish in 2nd place in the Pro Endurance division. Great job, Stuart!

The sun decided to come out for the XC races, and so did the wind. All of the fire roads had a significant headwind but that also meant that the fun, flowy descents were even more fun with a tailwind. Many team members chose to ride in their Specialized Evade helmets because of this. Team Bear Valley Bikes decided to start out the series with a bang by having numerous podiums in the Expert and Pro divisions. Mark Blakeslee had a great start to his season by placing 2nd in the 65-69 Expert Men’s class. Blakeslee was a major contributor for Bear Valley Bikes in their Kenda Cup West Pro/Expert win and he looks to be back just as strong! With a fat bike from Bear Valley Bikes, he has been able to ride year round which will help him out greatly.

In the Pro Men’s race, Keegan Swenson took off from the beginning which left a group of men battling each other while also trying to catch up to him. Bear Valley Bikes rider Alfred Pacheco decided to set the stage for this race and put in much of the work in trying to catch up to Keegan. Teammates, competitors, and fans all mentioned how amazed they were with Alfred’s ability to set the pace for the chase group. Alfred has only raced in a Bear Valley Bikes kit for two races but he is already showing an amazing amount of potential for the team! After the race, Alfred said “I was fighting the whole race for second place but in the last lap I made a little mistake which cost me the battle for the second spot. I ended up finishing in a solid 4th place and I'm happy with my race.”Jules Bourdevaire hopped onto Alfred’s pain train and was able to pull away from the pack at the end of the race to take 2nd in a very smart, strategic race. Jean-Louis Bourdevaire stayed with the chase pack for most of the race and finished just off of the group in 10th place. John Nobil, who has been backcountry skiing all winter, showed his strength from cross training with a solid 12th place finish. Nobil raced an even-paced race and came on strong at the end. He will be back climbing with the leaders in no time at all once he gets back to training on the bike! Team owner Derek Hermon fought hard on the course and came across the finish line in 14th. Last year he made the podium for the series and he is looking to do the same in 2016!

Nikki Peterson finished her first Kenda Cup Pro Women’s race in 3rd place. This season is certainly going to test her as she has some fierce competition among the local Pro Women in Southern California. Since this is her first season as a Pro and only her second season ever, this season will be all about learning!

We have not seen the official team results after the first round but Derek Hermon is very optimistic after the first race. “Our numbers are always down early on. Many of our team members show up later on for the local races in Big Bear Lake. Based on the showing we had today, I think we will definitely be in contention for the title again.”

If you are interested in joining the fun, please contact Derek Hermon at bearvalleybikes@gmail.com.Whether you want to race, join us on fun group rides, or help out at local events, we would love for you to join our family!